I made a yeast starter with Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast for a lager I will be brewing in a couple of days. Fermented the starter in 2.8 L wort on a stir plate for 18 hours. It fermented actively, with a healthy krausen. I then cold crashed for 48 hr (was planning only 18 hr, but had to delay brew day). However, as opposed to previous yeast starters I have made, after cold crashing, although there is a thin white layer of presumably yeast on the bottom of the flask, the "beer" above it is still cloudy. In the past, I always decanted my starter before pitching it to avoid any off flavors from the starter "beer." However, I am concerned that this starter cloudiness may still represent yeast in suspension, and I would be wasting those cells if I decanted.
So, what would you recommend? Should I not worry so much about the cloudiness, and go ahead and decant before pitching? Should I pitch the whole 2.8 L volume to get every yeast cell available, and not worry about the starter affecting the final beer flavor? Should I actually be concerned that the cloudiness represents contamination, although I was very careful with sanitation?
Also, after cold crashing, how long can a starter be kept in the refrigerator prior to pitching? Will it hurt the yeast if it is not pitched for 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, etc?
Thanks.
So, what would you recommend? Should I not worry so much about the cloudiness, and go ahead and decant before pitching? Should I pitch the whole 2.8 L volume to get every yeast cell available, and not worry about the starter affecting the final beer flavor? Should I actually be concerned that the cloudiness represents contamination, although I was very careful with sanitation?
Also, after cold crashing, how long can a starter be kept in the refrigerator prior to pitching? Will it hurt the yeast if it is not pitched for 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, etc?
Thanks.